Successful Women Share Stories At Atwood Museum

CHATHAM – What happens when you ask 12 successful women to share their stories? 

Several dozen other women (and one man) found out last week at the "Talk to me, Chatham" event at the Atwood Museum. Sponsored by Morphmom, a networking community for women, proceeds from the event benefitted the Chatham Children's Fund and The Atwood Museum.

 Kathleen Smith, founder of Morphmom who moderated the event, believes that we learn much from hearing each other's life stories. Change can be hard, and the word morph refers to a smooth transition from one state to another. 

"Every woman has a story. Every story can help another woman," she said. "When it comes to figuring out what path to take on our journey through life, knowing what has worked for others, hearing their stories, can unlock a host of possibilities."

 Michelle Ferguson is a financial advisor on the Cape whose life was upended when she and her husband were diagnosed with cancer within six months of each other in 2019. "No one prepares you to be a widow at age 45," she said. Their joint creation of a survival guide, the first of two books she would publish, helped her manage the details after he died. That accomplishment inspired her to focus on helping women navigate grief and life after loss. 

"Even in grief, there is something to be grateful for," she said.

 Chatham's Pat Vreeland shared her experience working as a nurse and teacher in the Chatham schools. 

"We saw the other side of the Welcome to Chatham postcard," she said, describing the needs of many of the local children. "The community is so giving, but they were not aware." She set up the Chatham Children's Fund to address that need. Today the fund serves more than 225 children and teens from 150 Chatham families, with clothing, financial assistance, holiday wish list items and basic, year-round household financial support.

In September, she said, the fund will finally have a home at the newly refurbished Monomoy Community Services building on Depot Road. 

 Amanda Braga-Tipton, a former U.S. Army chaplain, was torn apart by her brother's death. Josh Tipton enlisted and served overseas in combat as a tanker in the First Cavalry division. His suicide, after returning home, stunned everyone who knew him. Braga began a nonprofit called Josh’s Boots, working on suicide prevention to honor him and all those who serve in the armed forces as well as first responders. It has only been 15 months, she said, but "we want to intercept permanent decisions like suicide." 

 Pharmaceutical industry veteran Eileen Heffernan is passionate about making "real investment in women's health at a scale that matters." Heffernan is currently engaged in bringing Celltaxis, a drug to treat lymphatic disorders like lymphedema and lipedema, through phase II trials. Lymphatic disorders impact millions, many women but also crucially a significant number of men, yet these patients are frequently undiagnosed, misdiagnosed and misunderstood, she said.

 The plight of the fishing community during COVID-19 inspired Chatham's Shareen Davis. Restaurants were largely closed and fishermen couldn't sell what they had caught. When the state finally permitted fishermen to start to sell off the dock, she and others began working towards a fisherman-owned co-op. The result was the Chatham Harvesters Co-Op, founded to ensure that fishermen have control and opportunity to market and process their own product.

The success of the co-op, Davis said, has meant that she can step back and start to look at "whatever comes next" for her. "I am morphing to the next step," Davis said with a smile.

 Other speakers included Jitka Borowick, Jeanne Daniel, Rachel Kaprielian, Michelle Linn, Dani Davis, Tedi Marsh and Viginia Thompson Nickerson. For more information on future Morphmom events go to www.morphmom.com.